My Four Days and Four Nights

SXSW is over. I'm a little sad but I'm happy with how this year has gone. I met this one girl Jessica through playing volleyball and we decided to be South By buddies (plus her cousin) and turned out we had a lot of similar taste in music. I am happy with the fact that I stayed disciplined and made good trades at work even though I did oversleep. Also happy to report that I did manage to not touch alcohol for the duration of SXSW and even St. Patty's Day on top of that. I don't know how I did it but concentrating on getting good pictures really helped take my mind off of it. To recap...

Yay for:

Lisa Hannigan - "The female Damien Rice" quickly emerges as in a tag line b/c of their previous working relationship, although I'm sure her talent will earn its own merit and people will start dropping the comparison to Damien soon. She also has probably the cutest smile in the world. Her cheeks perk up when she smiles, make me just want to run up and pinch them. I heard she temporarily relocated to Austin, maybe I can be her new BFF.

Nikon 70-200mm lens - I've been shopping for a new lens for a while now. Since this one's full retail price is about $2,100 I decided to rent it for a week instead for less than $200. For the most part I'm pretty impressed. I wouldn't mind it being even faster and possibly lighter but I've gotten some amazing photos this week because of it. I remember years ago wondering how people get these amazing concert photos for Rolling Stone and then actually attempting it and now finally have the confidence to say that I can produce photos almost just as good.

The Parish - We've been fortunate to be blessed with some amazing acts and having NPR host their day party there again. Meiko, Sara Bareilles, K'naan, Ra Ra Riot, Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears, Okkervil River, Blitzen Trapper and having Jason Hammel from Mates of State to DJ for us in between sets. Although part of me felt that I hung out at the Parish way too much and wasted money on the wristband.

Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears - I'm disappointed in myself that I haven't heard them live until this week. I was gonna go to the new CD release party back in January I think but I didn't make it. They currently have dethroned Spoon as my favorite musical act from Austin.

Will Sheff and Okkervil River - You're talented. The ladies love you. I wish I could grow a beard like yours. 'Nuff said.

iPod Touch - I got a new iPod. My old one has served me bravely for many many years. It's happened before where it just freezes or the battery completely shuts down on me only to come back alive a few days later, perfectly fine as if nothing had happened. For this reason I started calling my iPod Meredith after Grey's Anatomy b/c of her revival after drowning in one of the seasons. My friend Brett works at Apple so he got me a 15% discount. This is just perfect for all the new music I discovered this week!

Losing 5 lbs - Most of that is probably water weight; some of it has to do w/ hauling the camera and walking all over town.

Meiko - I heart Meiko. I think we've established that. I actually ran into her randomly right before the alley behind Logan's. She was wearing a bright yellow green dress. Part of me wanted to follow her and see where she went and I'm glad Sensible Jason talked Stalker Jason out of it. She was probably just going somewhere to grab a bite to eat or her hotel room. I wish I had worn my Lacoste polo in the exact same color, then it definitely would be a sign. She worn white for her performance that night at The Parish though... that was a sign that I should propose I think. Sara Bareilles - I got a picture with her! She's gotten even more beautiful since last year if that's even humanly possible.

St. Vincent - aka Annie Clark. I got to meet her at the NPR party. I even shook her hand which is the equivalent of shaking magic since she does some amazing things with an guitar in her hands. She was in The Polyphonic Spree and toured with Sufjan Stevens and I'm pretty sure she can kick my ass in Guitar Hero.

Chrissie from New Orleans - randomly lady that I started talking to whiling listening to M. Ward's acoustic set at Halcyon. I basically was just using some Dale Carnegie principles and let her talk about herself. This lady was from New Orleans and she used to be a sommelier and her husband owns Hastings Entertainment (kind of like B&N?) and has over 10,000 vinyl records. She said when they moved they had dolly after dolly full of records. We talked about New Orleans, oysters, Top Chef, Mother's Restaurant, music, wine and just about everything. She gave me two mixed CD's and her contacts. I think I pretty much just won the "Free CDs 4 Life" prize.


Boo for:

Kanye West - I just don't care about him anymore. My patience is wearing thin for him and his ego. They had to send out multiple text messages through different sources to try to get people to come to the performance. I think some of the organizers got nervous when they didn't see a long line out the tent. If you want me to go further I'll even say that Kanye doesn't produce any real music. He obviously can't sing. He samples other people's music. When was the last time he produced anything original on his own? If you want me to go there I will, but I won't.

Perez Hilton - I'll give props to Perez for his taste in music especially with Meiko and thanks for stopping by the establishment but he's not even a real celebrity ok? Stop worshipping this guy like he's God. Real celebrities come to SXSW as real music fans and keep a low profile like Drew Barrymore (ran into her at The Parish Saturday night).

Not getting a press pass for the camera - I never had any real problems with it other than at Stubb's but this year almost every place was giving me crap about not having a tag for my camera. Maybe that's the downside of the big lens that it draws more attention. Even at The Parish the volunteers would give me problems so I basically just go in through the backdoor after that.

SXSW Volunteers - Look, I appreciate probably 98% of the volunteers. People that gave up their spring breaks or time off work to make this event possible. There are rules, many of them not popular rules, that you have to enforce in order to make SXSW go smoothly. Things change however when you go on a total power trip and thinking you're the Almighty Himself. Seriously, turn it down a notch. Why don't you go home and worry about your algebra homework more than if I have a shoelace dangling over the line?

Rachel Ray - How could you poop on Rachel Ray?! I know, right? Just watch a few episodes of Bourdain's show and you'll understand what I'm talking about. Hey great line up again this year Rachel (The Hold Steady, Ra Ra Riot, Bob Schneider, Semi-Precious Weapons) and heck of a party but that pussy husband of yours John Cusimano might want to get his balls reattached and not pimp you to promote his band. The Cringe? Funny that's exactly what I get when I hear their music. You have a lot of ways to go until the Nickelback level but still... you're pretty bad. At the very least, not good. It's a shame that you're sharing the spotlight with all these other awesome bands and not to mention your darling wife. Ok, so I guess this is really more pooping on John than Rachel.

Speaking of Nickelback... Jessica and I have determined that they're quite possibly the worst band ever and the worst export out of Canada so if you ever have to argue against NAFTA in your debate class, bring this up.
yes, I know music has nothing to do w/ NAFTA but have a sense of humor, ok?